Japan's March exports show technical rebound only

The rebound reflects re-stocking after strong inventory clearances in past months, rather than a sustained recovery, says Credit Suisse economist.

Japan's export rebound in March, after a truly terrible performance at the beginning of the year, is not a sign that the country has steered through the crisis, says Hiromichi Shirakawa, chief economist at Credit Suisse in Tokyo.

Exports fell to 4.18 trillion $42.6 billion in March 2009, a 45.6% decline year-on-year. Crucially though, that is an improvement on February's export figures, which fell a record 49.4% from the same month in 2008. According to Bloomberg News, the consensus among...